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Christopher Blakey

@christopherblakey.com

570 followers 640 following 94 posts

🎵 Theomousikos, Wycliffe Hall/University of Oxford 🦉 Wildlife watcher, recorder, and educator 📸 Mostly local photography- Oxfordshire (ex Durham) 🦋 Creator of https://durhammoths.org/ 🌐 christopherblakey.com 📷 instagram.com/thewildlifewatcher

durhammoths.org

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jan 1

Happy New Year #teammoth! I've been working on the first complete moth website for Durham alongside a few others, the result of which is here. I hope it is useful and interesting to recorders in the area and beyond! There are, no doubt, improvements/corrections– if you spot anything, do let me know.

Home | Durham Moths

Welcome to the Durham Moths website. The site provides descriptions, identification notes, and up-to-date information regarding the status, distribution, flight times, and occurrence of the moth speci...

durhammoths.org

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Sep 20

Trapping around Cothill Fen this week produced some nice moths including Clifden Nonpareil! Evergestis limbata was the rarest to turn up, and it was nice to see Vestal and other migrants #teammoth @freshwaterhabitats.bsky.social @upperthames.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jul 8

Wow songs like quite the night! We only had our first record in 2022- perhaps it won't be long until we see numbers like these

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jul 8

A surprising moth came to my light on Friday– the rarely-seen monster Tineid, Morophaga choragella. It's only been seen once in Durham (1862). I was also surprised by the number of Marbled White Spot– all 4 previous county records are of singles, and I got 7! #teammoth #mothsmatter #ukwildlife

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jul 3

Fantastic Arto, well done!

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jun 13

Four nice micros from an afternoon stroll around Wynyard Woodland Park (VC66) last week: Dichrorampha alpinana, Schreckensteinia festaliella, Pammene regiana, and a beautiful Ptylocoma lecheana. All new to me! #teammoth #ukwildlife

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jun 9

Thanks!

Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jun 9

Thanks, very satisfying when you get the target species!

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jun 9

Thanks Arto!

Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jun 8

Delighted to have found Phtheochroa rugosana in Durham- the first modern adult record! An amazingly intricate moth, and a candidate for our rarest breeder due to the scarcity of White Bryony here. Keith Dover and I were following up on historic reports recently confirmed by larval records. #teammoth

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Reposted by Christopher Blakey

Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jun 1

The Durham Moths website has been updated with new data! We've had some interesting new arrivals to the county list over the last few months, including adding a new family of Lepidoptera thanks to the northward spread of Roeslerstammia erxlebella durhammoths.org #teammoth #mothsmatter

Home | Durham Moths

durhammoths.org

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jun 1

Home | Durham Moths

durhammoths.org

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · May 10

Thanks Arto- absolutely, they must be out there!

Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · May 9

A few mothing highlights from April around County Durham. Phylloporia bistrigella is rare in the county, and I was delighted to find one again. Coleophora pyrrhulipennella case was a chance find- a new site, the third county record, and the first in 35 years. #teammoth #ukwildlife #moth #insect

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Apr 27

Well done, worth the wait I hope!

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Apr 6

Many thanks for your kind comments!

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Apr 4

The last night of March brought some nice moths to my traps. Red Sword-grass was a long-awaited first for me, and I've only seen Pine Beauty and Semioscopis avellanella once before! Taken in County Durham (VC66) in forest on the edge of moorland. #teammoth #mothsmatter #ukwildlife

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Mar 25

That's very kind of you, thank you!

Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Mar 25

Thanks!

Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Mar 25

Thanks Steve

Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Mar 24

The end of last week finally saw some warmer nights in Durham, so I headed out to a favourite local spot with two traps in tow. Nothing I wasn't expecting, but a decent haul nonetheless (115 moths/18 species), and Yellow Horned is one I look forward to every year. #teammoth #mothsmatter ##ukwildlife

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Feb 6

It makes a real difference being out in good habitat– I'm lucky to get single figures in my garden at this time of year!

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Feb 6

40 moths/5 species earlier this week in a local Birch woodland. Pale-brindled Beauty made up most of the numbers, though a lone Spring Usher was my favourite of the night. Durham, VC66. #teammoth #mothsmatter #ukwildlife

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Reposted by Christopher Blakey

Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · Jan 30

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our annual UK Moth Recorders' Meeting on Saturday

In case you missed it, all the brilliant talks from the day are now available to watch back on our YouTube channel! Grab a cuppa and catch up here 👉 youtube.com/watch?v=qLhn...

#UKMRM #MothsMatter

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Christopher Blakey @christopherblakey.com · Jan 18

Well done Ed, done great work detailed here. Always love reading these!

Reposted by Christopher Blakey

Ed Pritchard @edpritchard.bsky.social · Jan 18

A roundup of the mothing year at #Saltholme 2024 is online and available: community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisi... @teesbirds.bsky.social Highlights included 3 #VC66 firsts; Coleophora inulae, Elachista poae and best of all Dahlica triquetrella, found and id'd by scabz1.bsky.social #teammoth #ukmoths

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